The verdict was not reached on Wednesday evening in the trial for fatal violence against a police officer in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas – After a day of deliberations, jurors went home Wednesday night without reaching a verdict in the murder trial of Austin police Officer Christopher Taylor.

The judge dismissed the Travis County jury after it spent nearly nine hours weighing Taylor’s guilt or innocence in the fatal 2019 shooting of Mauris DeSilva.

The jury did not question or ask additional questions of attorneys during Wednesday’s deliberations.

At 9:30 p.m., Judge Dayna Blazey read a jury note sent at 8:52 p.m. that read: “We are tired – we can’t think anymore.”

The trial, which lasted a week, centered on the question of whether Taylor acted in self-defense when he shot DeSilva.

Investigators said that on July 31, 2019, officers responded to a call at the Spring Condominiums in downtown Austin, where they found DeSilva with a knife to her neck.

Police took the elevators to confront him and as the doors opened, officers shouted orders before DeSilva, a man with a history of mental health issues, approached them with a knife, prompting officers to fire.

Prosecutors showed jurors Taylor’s body camera footage from July 31, 2019 for the first time on the first day of the trial.

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During testimony, Officer Phillip Zuniga, who responded to the call with Taylor on July 31, testified that he believed DeSilva could have harmed the officers that afternoon.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors accused Taylor of using deadly force too quickly, within just three seconds of confronting DeSilva.

Prosecutors asked Officer Zuniga why pepper spray wasn’t used before deadly weapons: “Pepper spray would have contaminated the entire area and potentially injured other officers who couldn’t see or breathe,” Zuniga responded on the witness stand.

During closing arguments, Taylor’s defense asked the jury to focus on the self-defense aspect of whether Taylor was justified in fatally shooting DeSilva.

“You must disprove that Chris Taylor did not have a reasonable belief that he was in danger of death or serious bodily harm in the seconds before the shooting,” said defense attorney Doug O’Connell.

The families of Christopher Taylor and Mauris DeSilva were both in the courtroom Wednesday evening.

The deliberations will continue on Thursday at 9 a.m